Bardish ChaggerLiberalLeader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat that federal politics is subject to some of the strictest political financing legislation and regulations in the country, and the party fully complies with the Canada Elections Act in all cases.

When the rules are followed, no conflict of interest can exist. We will continue to follow the rules.

Mr. Speaker, I am frankly astonished that the NDP cannot get behind a deal that has the full support of socialists across Europe.

Last week, the vice chancellor of Germany, who is a social democrat, said, “CETA is a good and modern agreement, providing us with a great opportunity to set fair and good rules for ongoing globalization”.

Manuel Valls, the socialist prime minister of France, calls it an exemplary deal.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister just said a moment ago that he did not trust senior members of the Canadian Forces to be open and transparent, and give briefings on the mission in Iraq. This is ridiculous, and he should stand in his place and apologize.

Despite the Liberals' claim that Canada's training of the peshmerga is ongoing, generals have confirmed that the operations have shifted away from training.

Our contribution to the battle to retake Mosul was supposed to include a field hospital, but the Liberals could not get it done.

Will the Minister of National Defence take responsibility, lift the curtain of secrecy, and confirm to the House that he has sent our troops to the front line without proper medical support?

John McKayLiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, as you know, the Canadian Forces are engaged in an anti-ISIL coalition. There was a meeting in Europe this week and we are proud partners in that coalition. At this time, the coalition is pursuing its mandate to advise, to assist, and to train and it has not gone beyond that mandate.

Last month, we learned from the Canadian forces leadership that the mission had evolved. It has changed, but the government has kept this information from Canadians, who still do not know exactly what our soldiers are doing in Iraq. According to rumours, our soldiers are doing more than giving advice; they are engaging in combat.

The government prefers to conceal this information instead of being transparent. When we were in power, we were more transparent about what our soldiers were doing without putting their operations at risk.

When will the government finally be transparent with Canadians and tell them the truth?

John McKayLiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is wrong. The mandate has not changed. It is a train, assist, and advise mission. In addition, we have provided air support and we are in the process of providing hospital services as the fight proceeds. To think of the hon. member's party as an open and transparent party is, in some respects, a contradiction in terms.

Despite the deafening silence by the government, commanders of the Canadian Armed Forces have confirmed that the mission against ISIS has evolved. Yesterday, the defence minister would not rule out putting our troops on the ground in Syria, this despite the fact the Prime Minister once said his position was clear, that expanding the mission into Syria, committing our Armed Forces to the dangers of an ill-defined combat mission, would not serve our national interests.

Is the minister aware that he has contradicted the Prime Minister? Why are the Liberals saying one thing in opposition and quite a different thing in government?

John McKayLiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, as I said in previous answers, the mandate has not changed. We remain committed to an advise, an assist, and training mission. We are an important and committed partner in the international coalition against Daesh. We will assess the needs of the coalition as time goes on, but under this current mandate, our mission is focused in Iraq.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government's lack of transparency is troubling. Yesterday, the minister did not rule out a possible extension of the mission against ISIS. When we extended the mission in Syria, we put it to a vote in Parliament and the Liberals opposed it.

Now that they are thinking of extending the mission in Syria, will they put it to a vote in Parliament, or will they continue to operate in secret without informing Canadians?

John McKayLiberalParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence

Mr. Speaker, we are currently focused on the train, assist, and advise mission in Iraq with our coalition partners. We are not taking military operations in any place else, and we are not about to engage in speculation as to where anything might go in this conflict.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals made many promises about infrastructure to Canadians and to municipalities. Although phase two of their plan is still under construction, we have learned that the privatization our public infrastructure is on the table.

The Minister of Finance is discussing the possibility of more private investment in infrastructure and the potential sale of our roadways, bridges, and airports.

Was it always the government's intention to go the privatization route and to sell our infrastructure to foreign investors?

Mr. Speaker, we are delivering on a historic commitment to invest $120 billion in Canadian communities from coast to coast to coast. In order to do that, we are engaging with the municipalities. We are engaging with the provinces and territories and we will also engage with the private sector to do more to help Canadian municipalities build the necessary infrastructure for their communities.

Mr. Speaker, I do not remember a commitment to privatization of public infrastructure in the last election campaign. The Liberals promised investments in infrastructure, but there is something sketchy about the rollout of the second phase. While the minister is holding talks behind closed doors on an infrastructure investment bank, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities is worried that funds promised for public transit and social housing, among other things, will end up diverted to that scheme.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the unprecedented level of co-operation we have with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the big city mayors. As a matter of fact, last week the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Environment, and I all met with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, as well as big city mayors, to listen to them, to work with them, to deliver on the commitments we made.

Mr. Speaker, can the Minister of Canadian Heritage tell us how the programs offered by her department support our official languages and the vitality of our official language minority communities across the country?

Our government is proud to provide positive leadership on official languages and to promote the vitality of our linguistic communities across the country. That is why we have an official languages support program through which my department invests $340 million a year in those communities. By so doing, we reaffirm the social contract that unites us as citizens of this country.

Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister got an invite to the Canadian Labour Congress young workers' summit, he thought it was a ticket to selfie heaven. Instead, youth turned their backs on him, because he turned his back on them.

Most young people get their first job from small and medium-sized business, but new payroll and carbon taxes will leave less money for these job creators to pay young employees. Why is the Prime Minister taxing away the opportunities of our youth?

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to indicate that we are all in on helping young Canadians find a meaningful career, both in terms of educational opportunities and skill development. As we face the new industrial revolution, Canadians are becoming prepared for change.

Mr. Speaker, like young people, disabled Canadians want the opportunity to work. A million of them already do, and private sector companies like Tim Hortons, RBC, and KPMG want to continue hiring them, but a disabled worker earning minimum wage can lose as much as $1.20 in clawbacks and taxes on every new dollar he earns. No one can afford to work with a 120% tax rate. Will the finance minister show leadership to remove this poverty trap and make work pay?

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to talk about the enhancements we have provided to all Canadians in terms of skill development and access to new opportunities in the labour force.

We are continuing to support small business with reductions in EI payments, work share opportunities by doubling the length of opportunity, and providing more opportunities for small business to create new jobs for Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, a report that the Minister of Finance commissioned is recommending that the Liberals spend $40 billion to set up an infrastructure bank. Is it the minister's plan to take that $40 billion away from infrastructure projects already promised to communities, or is it his plan to burden working Canadians with yet another tax?

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to talk about the Advisory Council on Economic Growth that provided its recommendations to me last week. This august group provided us with some important recommendations on how we can amplify the impact of some of the measures we put in budget 2016.

I was very pleased to receive its recommendations. We are studying them, and we are considering how we can use its insights, as well as our policies, to make sure we can grow our economy for the long term.